To Catch a Cheat by Kelley St. John
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: November 1st 2007
Genres: Fiction
Pages: 416
Add It: Goodreads
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Single thirty-something Marissa, though beautiful and talented, is becoming increasingly skeptical about romance because every man in her life has been a cheater. She creates a website dedicated to exposing serial cheaters, but instead her website ushers back into her life her first boyfriend from adolescence, and he is determined to show her that a man can be true.

Kelly St. John created a cute, contemporary romance here that was laced with sarcasm, humor and wit. The interactions between Trent and Marissa were hilarious, and we were offered basically a three-in-one deal, as there was more going on in the background with the secondary characters.

I liked Marissa, but I think she took her insecurities a bit too far. Though I understand she was cheated on one too many times, she seemed almost a bit too jaded. Plus, she had daddy issues, and that bothers me some (i.e., punished all the men in her life for the actions of her father) in general and in this novel. Still, I enjoyed her wit and sarcasm and found myself sympathizing with her and – I’ll admit it – laughing a bit when her latests squeeze cheats on her…with another man. Ouch!

I think the thing that made this story for me, however, was Trent. I just LOVE it when a hero decides he’s in love with the heroine early on and will do whatever it takes to get her. I don’t think we see that often enough. Though he wants to prove himself as a business guru in his own right and not as the figurehead of his grandfathers company, he doesn’t have major issues. He’s just a sweet, laid back, super sexy kind of guy.

Together they had great chemistry and I think their relationship progressed at a nice pace. They didn’t immediately jump in the sack, and they really took the time to get to know each other. Not that they had much of a choice with the radio station dictating how they spent their time together, but still.

There were a couple of times when the story seemed to drag, mostly in the middle, and I wonder if it had been just a bit shorter if the story wouldn’t have been better. But overall I truly enjoyed it. The relationship Marissa has with her two best friends Candi and Amy was great and I could so see me and the girls from here acting just like they did: Talking about our sex lives, hating on our ex’s, creating polls about who’s sexier in boxers or briefs..well, pretty much what we do now.

The radio contest was a good twist – something we don’t see very often. I thought the two radio DJ’s were hilarious and the entire farce fun and entertaining.

I’m going to give it:

4.0 out of 5

I’ll be on the lookout for more by Kelly St. John. You can buy it here or here.